After 9/11 the American people wanted to feel secure, and they turned to the government, who responded by establishing forces and agencies that would provide a feeling of security to the American People.  People on the left would disagree with the fine points - individual liberties were being lost, some tactics bordered on fascist, etc, but in the end, America wanted a Daddy figure to "take care" of it, and the government responded.

It's the same with the current financial crisis.  Sure, people can argue the fine points of it - that a free market doesn't care if you starve, that paying tax is an assult on our freedom, whatever, but in the end, like 9/11, we are in a tight spot and the American People have little patience for intellectual exercizes or armchair theories about free market  - they just want a Daddy figure to "take care" of them.

I'd like to think that it was Obama's AWESOMENESS that won the election for him, but in the end, I have to believe that it was the American Voters responding to a Daddy figure for the current situation just as they did with Bush in the aftermath of 9/11.  There's a lesson to be learned about pandering here somewhere...

(My appologies for the patronizing tone of this - can't help it, I'm a San Franciscan.  I suspect, beneath my snark, I may have stumbled onto an interesting talking point.  Anyone want to translate what I said into regular non-snark speak?)

Thanks, Jeff!

Mark - good points.

Sorry Mark - I realized I had an answer for you - I'd imagine that McCain would be, literally, more of a father type (well... grandfather.  And Obama is now twice as old as my dad was when he had me, but I get your point) - but this is what I meant by my point - McCain's plan - or at least what the Americans took to be his plan, was very much in line with the Conservative values - letting the free market handle the situation.  Obama's plan, according to the media, was more of a "I'm going to take care of you" plan.  So between those two plans, Obama's was more of the Daddy plan.

Just like 9/11.  We'll never know for sure, but knowing my party, I imagine the Democratic response to 9/11 would be to hunt down Bin Laden, try him and execute him and that would be that.  But that's not what people wanted - they wanted the Patriot Act and the War in Iraq and so on.  Again, a Daddy to take care of them.

Now, don't get me wrong - I do believe that Americans, by and large, are very adult and individulaistic, but in times of crisis, historically, we as a nation, do tend to want a Daddy figure as President, at least in terms of what they can do "for us".  (As opposed to what we can do for them.)

5  Lessons We Hope Obama Learned from Spider-Man !

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/110813-Obama-Spider-Man.html

There's thousands of lessons we should hope he didn't learn from Conan the Barbarian.

LOL !  Or from Schwarzenegger !